Amazon Academy in Glasgow opens doors to hundreds of SMEs learning how to succeed in the digital economy

The Amazon Academy returned to Scotland for our first event in 2018 to help Scottish small businesses and independent authors succeed in the digital economy. Over 650 small businesses and authors attended the event at the SEC Centre in Glasgow to learn how to grow their export sales, how to boost their productivity - and for authors, how to self-publish and reach a global audience.

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Today we are here to help you to grow your revenue, increase productivity and boost your export sales, to help build a stronger economy and create more jobs in Scotland.

Doug Gurr, UK Country Manager, Amazon

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SMEs, entrepreneurs, and tech start-ups from across Scotland came to hear from independent experts including Emma Jones MBE and Founder of Enterprise Nation, Parveen Thornhill, Regional Director, Department for International Trade, as well as three small business owners who told their own stories of how they have boosted their exports thanks to embracing e-commerce. The event was also broadcast live to enable small businesses in rural and remote areas benefit from the day.

Founder of Enterprise Nation, Emma Jones MBE, opened the event, talking about the importance of exporting for small businesses: “Scotland is a great place to run a business with strong heritage and a skilled workforce. Amazon provides a great way for SMEs to break into overseas markets, which is major part of our mission to help SMEs grow their business online.”

Our UK Country Manager, Doug Gurr, added: "We’re seeing a record number of SMEs selling their products across Europe, North America, Japan, China and India, opening themselves to millions of additional potential customers through the power of the internet. Today we are here to help you to grow your revenue, increase productivity and boost your export sales, to help build a stronger economy and create more jobs in Scotland.”

In the afternoon, small business owners participated in a variety of workshops, learning how to sell globally, how to best market and advertise their products on Amazon and how to sell their products business-to-business through Amazon Business and hand-crafted products through Amazon Handmade.

Alongside the event for small businesses, hundreds of aspiring authors also attended a dedicated Amazon Academy focused on how to write a bestseller and best practice for publishing books in print and digital via Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Amazon’s independent publishing programme.

Run in association with Enterprise Nation since 2016, Amazon Academies in Newcastle and Cardiff will also take place later this year; following previous events in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham attended by more than 1,000 SMEs and entrepreneurs.

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